Thomastown, Victoria

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Thomastown
Melbourne, Victoria

Population:

21700 (2001 census)

Postcode:

3074

Area:

14.7 km²

Property Value:

AUD $257,000 ^[1]

Location:

17 km from Melbourne

LGA:

City of Whittlesea

State District:

Thomastown, Mill Park

Federal Division:

Scullin

Suburbs around Thomastown
Campbellfield	Lalor	Mill Park
Campbellfield	Thomastown	Bundoora
Fawkner	Reservoir	Bundoora

Thomastown is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is quite well known for sharing its area with Westgarthtown, a historical settlement. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whittlesea.

[edit] History and Development

Thomastown came to existence at 1848 when the Thomas family bought the land north of Melbourne for market gardening. Two years later, William Westgarth bought land north of Thomas' holding, which he made way for German settlers. The Thomastown area attracted lots of farmers and horse-racing until the Second World War. In 1889, the Epping Railway Line opened and milk production and distribution grew during the 1930s when a German dairying family formed the Pura Dairy, ultimately to expand into Preston and became Metropolitan Dairies Pty. Ltd. In 1947, a housing co-operative was formed 2 km. north in the suburb of Lalor. It wasn't long before residential development began at Thomastown. While German settlers already call this area home, more settlers moved in, mostly Italians, Greeks and Macedonians. In 1961, a primary school opened, followed by a secondary college and another primary school, Thomastown West Primary School.

[edit] Thomastown Today

There is a strip shopping centre in High Street parallel to the railway station but little other shopping east of west of there. Edgars Creek runs along a linear park which is next to a reserve with ovals. Thomastown East has a grid street configuration, predating the later configuration in Thomastown West which protects residential streets from through traffic. On the south of Thomastown there are numerous factories and an electricity terminal station, near the Metropolitan Ring Road. There is also the Hume Freeway near Thomastown West. One of the more famous features of Thomastown is the Bostik factory, located close to the edge of the suburb on the Keon Park end.